Online Academy
Be free or die trying

Lesson's transcription

Today, we’re going to talk about Sales Funnels. We've already touched on this topic a little in our lectures about product lines, and by now, you should have conducted a certain number of interviews. I hope so, because today we’ll be discussing how to build sales funnels, how to structure content around them, and why all of this is necessary.

Even if your followers—those who follow you on Instagram or any other platform like—even if they consume all the content you post and follow you consistently every day, 24/7 (and trust me, only your mom is likely to do that), they still won’t capture all the information you provide in bits and pieces. Not to mention, you may not always communicate effectively about what you do, what products you offer, and what needs you can address, while also handling objections. And this is something we learn gradually because sometimes it’s really difficult to look at yourself, your product, and your content from the outside and understand what’s clear to people and what isn’t.

That’s why we conducted interviews—to better understand our audience. Hopefully, you've already conducted a certain number of interviews by the time you're watching this lecture.

Even if your content is packed with value and information about your products and services and clearly addresses your clients' pain points, it’s still hard for people to process all that information in an organized way. They’d need to visit your account, get absorbed in your reels, watch them in sequence, and really pay attention—and that’s assuming you’ve organized them all in a specific order and built in some content funnels, where you guide someone from one reel to another, from that to a highlight, and so on. Only then might someone actually understand what you're about.
The advantage of funnels is that they can accumulate all the information about you, your product, your services, the issues you address, handle objections, showcase case studies, and offer the person a chance to buy—starting with a consultation or a low-cost product, warming them up for your main product—all within a short time, say 24 hours. The essence of a sales funnel is that it provides all the necessary information to a client quickly, allowing them to make a decision on whether they want to work with you or not in a short time.

I’m sure each of you has gone through a funnel at least once in your life. Funnels are built through chatbots, which we’ll be working on, and you receive a series of content because, in such a short time, the person gets all the warming up they need in one place, without having to go anywhere else.

This is why bloggers and experts who have a high traffic flow, with large amounts of new audience and heavy advertising spend, make sales through these funnels every day. Most likely, the majority of you don’t have such budgets, but funnels will help you warm up your audience and sell in an automated way. When someone enters your funnel, they get warmed up without your involvement. If they then proceed to a sales consultation, they’ll come in already somewhat warmed up. This means you won’t have to spend your consultations just explaining who you are and what you do; the person will already know why they’re coming to you, what they want, and might even have a rough idea of your price range. This way, your consultations aren’t about trying to sell anything to anyone; rather, they become conversations with a person who already wants to buy from you and just needs to figure out if you’re a good fit for each other.

After this, the person will buy your main product. Even if they don’t buy right away, the funnel helps warm them up. Additionally, if your sales funnel is packaged in a chatbot, it allows you to keep all this customer data in one place. People who enter the bot and don’t unsubscribe stay there, and if you don’t bombard them with messages, you can gather them whenever you launch a marathon or a live session where you’ll be selling something. So, this funnel keeps your entire client base in one place, ready to engage with you.

Moreover, a funnel ensures that your client doesn’t get lost in your content. If someone is interested in a particular topic, and you guide them further into a funnel, they won’t just watch one video and forget about it; they’ll continue exploring, getting to know you better. You’ll establish a constant connection with them—they enter the funnel, and you can always reach out to them later and potentially make a sale.

How does all this work? The best method that we’re currently using, and that’s yielding great results for us and our students, is the comment-based approach. We discussed in the product line lectures that there's something called a lead magnet—a free file, guide, video, or lesson that helps attract your audience because, let's be honest, people are really interested in solving their problems. The lead magnet helps them solve a part of that problem. Lead magnets are always about addressing the audience’s pain points. For instance, if you’re a fitness coach and your audience’s pain point is weight loss, a lead magnet could be a free lesson titled “How to Lose Weight Quickly Without Restrictions.” You offer this free lesson in exchange for something — whether it's a subscription, a comment, or both. It’s not just something you give away for free; it’s always exchanged for an action that helps you progress and teaches your audience to take action in your account.

Here’s what we do: We record a reel on a topic relevant to our audience, touching on a pain point, offering some value, or just highlighting a problem. We then tell people that we have a free lesson or file that can help address this problem, and we’re willing to give it away if they comment on the reel—usually by writing a code word or just a plus sign, something simple, because we need to automate this process.

Once they comment, you send them the file and follow up by asking if they received it and if it was helpful. This keeps the conversation going. What does this do for us? First, it trains our audience to take action in exchange for value. Second, it prompts people to leave comments to enter the funnel, so they’re making the first move towards us. Third, algorithms see that we’re getting comments, that our content is engaging, and they start promoting our reels, driving organic traffic.
It’s important to note that the free file isn’t just a free file; it’s a lesson that provides value and warms up the person to a purchase by increasing their awareness of why they should work with you. Ideally, this file should be delivered directly through a bot, where you have a sequence of content planned out after the lead magnet, or you can send the lead magnet separately and include a link to the bot, where the person can continue engaging with you, possibly moving towards a consultation or another action.

The result is that you get your videos promoted, see increased engagement, and people start approaching you without you having to sell directly. They enter the funnel and continue warming up, and you can always reach out to them again.
Here’s your task: Identify the top five requests from your audience. For each, create a lead magnet. If you’re comfortable on camera, create video lessons where you discuss the lead magnet topic and then sell the idea of working with you. Create five lead magnets for the five main requests. If video isn’t your strength, create text-based ones—add photos, memes, make them engaging articles that cover the topic, show how they can work with you, and invite them to a consultation or guide them into a bot.

Once you’ve created the five lead magnets, break them down into smaller topics, create reels on these narrower topics, and offer the lead magnets in exchange for comments(comments should be different to recognise which file to send). This way, people will leave comments periodically, and you’ll give them different lead magnets (it’s okay if some repeat; not everyone will read all of them). This will boost your videos, increase your reach, and keep your audience engaged.
To sell something to someone, you need to have about seven touchpoints with them. Create these touchpoints through lead magnets, and if someone enters your bot, they’ll receive a content sequence. On the first day, they should receive the lead magnet, then a piece of content that raises their awareness of why they should work with you, followed by a direct invitation to a consultation, and finally, some case studies to reinforce your credibility. Send them one message per day for a week to keep them engaged.

If they don’t buy from the funnel, that’s okay—a sales funnel typically converts 1-2% of people.
So, if 100 people enter your funnel, you’ll get one or two buyers. Even if you don’t get automated
sales immediately, the funnel will still warm up your audience, and you’ll have a base of potential clients to reach out to again later.

To summarize, we’re creating five lead magnets for the top five requests from your audience, creating reels on narrower topics, and in the reels, we ask for comments in exchange for the lead magnet. You then send the lead magnet, guide them into a funnel, and continue warming them up for a sale. The people who enter your funnel stay there, so you can always engage with them later and move them towards a purchase.

We’ll explore how to create a content plan, what to post, and how to structure it in upcoming lessons. But for now, focus on creating those lead magnets and using them to drive engagement and sales.

Lesson's transcription

Today, we will start creating our first sales funnel together, and we’ll begin with the creation of a lead magnet. For those who might need a refresher from previous lectures, a lead magnet is a free resource—whether it’s a file, guide, lesson, or something else—that we offer in exchange for a specific action from our potential clients. This action would lead them joining our funnel, subscribing, or leaving us their contact details, which allows us to engage with them further down the line. These contacts then become our leads. Since we’re creating the sales funnel within a bot, our future interactions with this audience will also occur through the bot.

The lead magnet serves two main functions. First, it attracts the audience. We can’t just launch an ad saying, “Hey, I’m a great specialist, expert, or coach,” and expect people to subscribe. At this stage, the audience is unfamiliar with us and likely not interested in who we are or what we do.

Instead, they are focused on solving a specific problem or need they have. That’s why we create a lead magnet that addresses part of their problem to attract them to our blog, funnel, Instagram, or Telegram—wherever we are offering a solution. The lead magnet must be high-quality and directly address the client's pain point. Don’t create something useless like a generic guide on healthy eating—that's not interesting or valuable. The lead magnet should be something people want to grab; there should be demand for it.

You can determine this by conducting interviews to understand the main issues and problems your potential clients have—especially those who have already purchased from you or who are currently your clients. Learn what challenges they faced when they first came to you and what they value most in your work. From this, create a free, small promotional material.

The second function of the lead magnet is to warm up the audience for a future purchase. There are two options here:

The lead magnet can warm up the audience to purchase a tripwire—an inexpensive product that solves a bit more of their problem and leads them to buy your main product.

The lead magnet can warm up the audience to directly purchase your main product, such as through a consultation, assessment, or diagnosis.

We’ll explore both options, but I recommend focusing on direct sales through consultations, especially when you're just starting. Create a lead magnet that warms up the audience to book a consultation with you. By the way, the consultation can also be paid, serving as a sort of tripwire.

During the consultation, you can then sell your main product, whether it’s a coaching program or a comprehensive course.

If you choose this shorter, more targeted approach—where you first offer a lead magnet and then immediately invite the client to book a consultation—you should make sure to highlight in the lead magnet how beneficial the consultation will be. Discuss what will happen during the consultation, the problems you’ll address, and how you’ll help the client. Also, talk about how great it is to work with you in a personal coaching session. Beyond providing value in the lead magnet, you should also include a presentation of your personal coaching service and encourage the client to meet with you for a consultation.

Regardless of what information you provide in the lead magnet, avoid giving exercises that might be put off until later. If you do decide to include an exercise, for example, also record a video presentation where you explain who you are, what cases you’ve handled, and what you can offer.
Discuss the clients’ problems, whether they’re related to nutrition, the impact of stress on weight loss, the influence of hormones on weight loss, or anything else relevant to your specialty. The goal is to engage with the client immediately through the video.

Remember, people scrolling through Instagram and entering your funnel likely don’t have the time to start a workout immediately. It’s better to provide something that they can quickly watch or read, so they can make a decision to work with you right away. Below, I’ve provided a template you can use to create a video or article for your lead magnet, tailored to your topic. If you find this task particularly challenging, consider hiring a copywriter. Their services are relatively inexpensive and can make a significant difference since the funnel you create will continue to work for you for a long time. Invest the necessary effort to create a quality lead magnet that is engaging and valuable for your client.

If you decide to make a text-based lead magnet because you're not yet comfortable with video, ensure that the text is well-written, lively, and engaging. Remember, your funnel is set up once and works for you long-term, so make sure it’s done right.

If you choose to make a video, add visual elements to your presentation. Show what you’re talking about—whether it’s a file where you track clients’ progress, visual case studies, or your clients' meal plates designed according to your recommendations. Ground the viewer in reality, showing them something they can actually purchase.
No matter what topic you choose for your lead magnet or what problem you’re solving for the client, always circle back to how working with you directly will be even better. For instance, you might provide a quick dietary recommendation in the lead magnet but mention that in a one-on-one session, you’ll tailor a meal plan specifically for them. Don’t hesitate to sell within the lead magnet, whether through text or video. Even if you decide to offer something like a workout as a lead magnet, make sure to include a video or text where you present your main product within this free content. It should all be seamlessly integrated.

If you have a small traffic base and you’re not offering a tripwire, for example you’re going straight to selling your main product, focus on creating a lead magnet that consists of multiple lessons.

Make the first lesson as comprehensive as possible, where you provide value and present how great it is to work with you, and then immediately offer the client a chance to book a consultation. After that, provide two or three more lessons, perhaps a workout or another useful piece of content. Make it a complete mini-course or intensive, so that when people sign up for your free material, they receive something more substantial than just a guide. This should be a fun and engaging experience with you, even though it’s pre-recorded. You invest time in creating it once, and then it keeps working for you, selling for a long time.

The more value you provide in this lead magnet, the higher your conversion rate will be in the future, and all of this can be done automatically. Once you’ve recorded a valuable product and correctly highlighted what’s included in your main product, it will continue to sell to new audiences automatically.

If you decide to introduce a tripwire—a low-cost product between your main product and the lead magnet—then your lead magnet should include a single comprehensive video or article that provides value, solves part of the client’s problem, and presents the tripwire. The tripwire itself should then close another part of the problem, provide more value, and include a presentation of your main product.

The key difference here is that if you’re selling your main product directly through a consultation, you present the main product in the lead magnet. If you’re using a tripwire, you present the tripwire in the lead magnet, and in the tripwire, you present the main product. This approach allows you to sell to a larger audience, recouping the cost of your traffic, while your main product remains your primary revenue generator.

In summary, don’t create a lead magnet just for the sake of having one, just like we don’t create content for content’s sake. Think carefully about what value you can genuinely offer your clients after understanding their pain points through interviews. Identify the common problems your clients face most often, and create a tool that helps them address those issues. Whether it's tips for managing stress or practical advice on meal planning, make sure your lead magnet provides immediate value and serves as a stepping stone toward a deeper engagement with your main product.

After your audience receives the lead magnet, your next step is to engage with them within 24 hours, either leading them to purchase a tripwire or book a consultation. For example, offer only 24 hours to sign up for a free consultation, ensuring they have time to review the material and decide to work with you.

In conclusion, whether your lead magnet is a video or text, ensure it’s of high quality and provides genuine value. Whether you’re solving their problem with a mini-guide or helping them tackle a specific issue, your lead magnet should elevate their awareness of why they need your guidance, why it’s worth investing in, and why it’s valuable. If you manage to do this, your clients will be more likely to make a purchase.

Plan Your Lead Magnet: Record 1-2 videos OR write an article that not only provides value but also introduces your main service or tripwire offer.
Video Plan:

1. Start with the Client's Pain Points: Begin by describing the client's pain points (e.g., struggles with weight loss, experiencing setbacks, gaining extra weight after pregnancy, etc.).
2. Introduce Yourself and Establish Credibility: Share a few words about who you are and why your recommendations are valuable.
3. Increase Awareness: Explain why these problems persist and identify the common mistakes clients make.
4. Provide Useful Recommendations: Offer several practical tips on how to address these issues immediately (while consistently referencing how you can help solve these problems through your services). The video should provide actionable general advice, but highlight that in your main product, these steps will be personalized.
5. Present Your Product: Discuss your product and what exactly the client will gain. If you have case studies or testimonials, make sure to include them. Share client success stories, focusing on their emotional journey (e.g., the client came to you feeling defeated, apathetic, overweight, unhappy with themselves and their personal life, and left feeling happy, loving themselves, having improved their personal life, received a promotion, moved to their dream country, etc.).
6. Consultation and Call to Action: Finally, introduce the consultation and encourage viewers to sign up for it. If it's a tripwire product, offer it for purchase at the end.

Article Plan:

1. Block 1 - Headline and Benefits: Start with a compelling headline and clearly state the benefits the client will gain from reading the article.
2. Block 2 - Common Mistakes: Discuss ineffective methods for solving the problem or common mistakes your potential clients make.
3. Block 3 - About You: Explain who you are and why you can be trusted.
4. Block 4 - Your Methodology: Describe your methodology or the tools you use to achieve the goal, including case studies and social proof (testimonials).
5. Block 5 - Offer: Present your offer, detailing the program, what the client will receive, pricing, case studies, and why it's best to purchase now (e.g., bonuses, limited-time offers).

Lesson's Transcript

Today, we will discuss how to properly format case studies. It doesn't matter where you are presenting them—whether in an Instagram highlight, a post about your product, a post about yourself, or elsewhere—the approach to formatting case studies is generally the same.

I've often heard people say things like, "I don't have any case studies. I didn't take before-and-after photos. I didn't collect any of these stories. What should I do now? Where do I start? How can I create before-and-after photos?" To this, I want to say: those photos aren't as effective as they once were. Nowadays, it's far more important to tell stories—stories about how you've helped your clients, the state they were in when they came to you, and the state they were in when they left.
There are a few scenarios to consider here. The first is that you haven't collected any feedback from your clients for some reason. If that's the case, reach out to them now. Ask them about the state they were in when they first came to you, how they felt when they finished, what they liked, what they didn’t like, and what they found valuable in your work. Collect this feedback.

The second scenario is that you don't have any case studies at all. If that’s the case, then why? Is it because you've just started working, or perhaps the quality of your work wasn't very high? If you don't have strong case studies yet, hopefully, you have improved your skills, and moving forward, you'll be able to create compelling case studies.

Let's assume you do have case studies. The first thing you should do is, if you have before-and-after photos, that's great—they enhance the story. But if you don't, you can simply ask your clients for a photo they like of themselves, to show that you’ve worked with this person. It’s even better if you can tag their Instagram profile. This way, if any of your potential clients have doubts, they can check that this is a real person and perhaps even ask them about their experience. If you have nothing to hide—and I hope you don’t—this would be a great approach. However, if your client doesn't give permission to share their photos or tag their Instagram, then you'll need to focus on the story.

What’s important here is not just how much weight your client lost, how much muscle they gained, or how their body changed. As we've discussed, behind every goal of losing weight, gaining muscle, or changing appearance, there's always something deeper—a hidden motivation. It’s crucial to show the state the person was in when they came to you, their motivation, and whether they were able to achieve it.

For example, you might write, "A client, Maria, came to me in a depressed state. She was overweight and didn't like her body. She felt unattractive, constantly tired, and had no energy for her favorite activities. Her daily life consisted of waking up tired, going to work, drinking coffee to get through the day, and then going home where she barely had the energy to make dinner or occasionally meet friends on the weekends. Overall, her life lacked vibrancy. She also struggled with emotional eating and was in a state of constant apathy.

What did we do? We created a comfortable meal plan and gradually introduced exercise. I helped Maria manage her stress and made adjustments to her lifestyle and daily routine so that she could get enough sleep and feel good. Thanks to a balanced diet, she began to have more energy, which gave her the strength to engage in activities she enjoyed.
It's also important to note any challenges the client faced during the process. Potential clients fear encountering similar challenges, so when they see that others have faced and overcome them, it encourages them to take action. For example, Maria initially found it difficult to adjust to her new lifestyle. She continued to have slip-ups and was very worried that these setbacks wouldn’t stop and that her weight wouldn’t go down. We talked every week, gradually introducing new habits in a way that was comfortable for her.

And the result? After three months of working together, Maria lost 5–7 kilograms, felt completely comfortable thanks to the balanced diet and a healthy routine, and gained energy. She even developed new hobbies, started going on dates after work, met the love of her life, and moved to France. In other words, describe in detail what your client achieved. Many changes in our lives are closely tied to how we feel about ourselves and how satisfied we are with our bodies. These factors influence various aspects of our lives, and your work played a crucial role in that transformation.
When you share these stories, you're appealing to the emotions of potential clients. If you don't have real case studies, you can create a "case without a case." Instead of describing a real situation, you can explain what you would do if you had a client with a particular situation. You can learn this from designers or SMM specialists who often showcase projects by presenting what they would do if they were given a certain brief.

You can do the same thing—describe what result you would achieve for a woman who is in a particular situation. You can even base it on a consultation where the client didn't follow through, describing the situation as if it had been a full case. For example, "A woman came to me for a consultation with this and that issue. What would I do in that case? How would we work together? What result would we achieve?" Describe it just as you would with a real case, focusing on both physical results and the emotional and psychological transformation.

It's great if you can back this up with some social proof, like testimonials, screenshots of messages, tags, or video reviews from clients. Don't be shy—reach out to the clients you've worked with, especially those with whom you have a good relationship. Ask them to record a video testimonial. It’s not difficult for them to do, and you can offer them something in return, like a free guide or a free session, or extend your collaboration for another week. This way, you'll have a case study that can sell your services in the future.

When creating highlights or posts, it's also crucial to write a catchy headline. Don't just title it "Case Study." I've seen some people include case studies in their sales funnels with titles like "Case Study: Michael, 31 years old," followed by a dry description of his condition. This doesn’t work at all; it's not engaging. Instead, make the text lively, as I mentioned earlier, and use a headline like, "How to Lose 10 kg in a Month" or "From Apathy to a Vibrant Life."

I had a client who specializes in biomechanics, and she described a case study about a 65-year-old woman who started dancing and met the love of her life after working with her, despite initially struggling with pain and mobility issues. There’s always a way to create a compelling story—highlight the client's pain points and the fantastic transformation they underwent, not just their medical condition. Always appeal to emotions, results, and transformations in your stories.

Your task now is to format several of your case studies and insert them into your sales funnel, Instagram highlights, pinned posts, and Telegram channel if you have one. Follow this format, and always include a call to action. Don’t just tell the story—encourage your audience to take the next step. Whether it’s scheduling a consultation, leaving a comment, or watching a free lesson, guide them towards further engagement with your services.